Thor 2: Lady Sif Build - WIP

[TheLadyNerd]

Salutations all!

I'm going to attempt my first ever armour build (with help, of course!). The subject: Lady Sif from the new Thor 2: The Dark World film. I'm in the middle of drawing up a costume breakdown with my usual front, back, side sketches. However, I'm running into a novice issue of trying to figure out what material to build the actual armour pieces out of.

It has the appearance of sheet metal, but I don't know how best to recreate that. Most everything I'm finding (craft foam, worbla, fosshape) don't have that tell-tale sheen, even when covered with a metallic paint (at least from what I've been finding on Google searches. However, I know that folks here on the rpf have alot more insider knowledge on such things). I've been told cold cast aluminum is the most likely way to go, but alas I know of no one near me that has experience with that sort of thing. So I'm trying to figure out if there's any other methods available. (Though if it comes down it and cold cast aluminum is the only choice, I'll see what I can finagle.)

I haven't tried any techniques yet myself, but have been doing a bunch of research into various techniques. I like the idea of working with foam (i.e. doing some pepakura, foam, then bondo-resin) but I haven't seen any examples online of any costumes with that high-sheen that Sif's armour has. (Example - the difference between Heimdall's costume ---> http://0.tqn.com/d/comicbooks/1/0/z/y/MAN-15331R.jpg) and Sif's ---> http://djlaz.com/wp-content/uploads...-thor-2-begins-filming-first-set-pics-06.jpeg)

But my eyes are untrained and so I call upon you talented craftsman for help. Here's some reference of Sif's costume...

 

[Xenajo]

Her costume will most probably be made of polyurethane LRP armour which looks just like steel. Norton Armouries are the masters of this stuff and it wouldn't surprise me if they have made it for the film.

 

[BornKilr]

Check out this link: Craft Foam Armor Tutorial
This person made foam armor that really looks metallic. Maybe this will help. Good luck!

 

[TheLadyNerd]

Xenajo - Oh I think you hit the nail on the head there. Though I have no idea how polyurethane LRP armour is done. I couldn't find any tutorials on it, just a listing of companies who make costumes from it.

BornKIlr - I've been pondering over that tutorial. I think that would work fine for the pauldrons, but I'm unsure if it would give the right look for the cuirass. Maybe it's just a matter of needing to experiment?

What do you guys think about the underdress? I know it's probably leather, though I imagine in the heat of September for Dragoncon I would die in that. I haven't had any experience with faux leather. Would it be any cooler?

 

[heiro5]

That Penwiper tutorial is pretty great. I wonder if approaching the paint in the way kit builders build up metallic color would yield good results. You apply the metallic over a gloss black, some even apply a middle high gloss transparent layer...

So, something like that rubnbuff in black, preferably gloss, then something like liquitex high gloss latex, then build up some rubnbuff silver..?

Just a thought, I have no idea how that would look and obviously would require some experimentation.

Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

 

[TheLadyNerd]

I think it might be best for me to get some materials to test out and experiment on a few strips.

Now let's see if there's anything easy about this costume....boots perhaps? Would you guys say that Sif's leggings/boots are black or brown? Either way, it looks like the boots (sans knee graves) are just simple knee-high wedge boots. If so, I'll get to scouring Ebay pronto.

 

[Risu]

Faux leather would be a bad idea. Leather has pores like skin, faux leather is just plastic sheet.

 

[TheLadyNerd]

Here are a couple more photos I found from the recent movie trailer.





Is there anything besides polyurethane LARP armour that could get that tell-tale polished metal plate look? I've seen craft foam and worbla work well for more distressed armour or more rubber-esque looking pieces, but not something that looks like highly-polished metal (at least that I've seen). Thoughts? (I mainly ask I know of no one in my area who's ever worked with polyurethane LARP materials.)

Risu - Good point. I was more thinking faux leather to be on the cheaper side (which is what I may end up going with). But my research since I posted this thread initially, has indeed confirmed that natural leather is actually porous, thus breathes more, like you said.

 

[faille]

Subscribed.. this is one I would like to tackle too. And if it's anything like your Lara build it will truly be epic in its attention to detail

I say black for the boots.

Underdress is definitely leather.. looks like the leggings are too, although you could probably get away with a knit or spandex to help with heat.

As far as the armour.. according to this thread (from the RPF, no less), the polyurethane armors have a black base and are painted. So I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to replicate the shine with paint. You should check out some of Freya's threads, she is a master at painting and layering color.

 

[Briciius]

what the hell the size of the shield ... this is rediculous ><

 

[Dadpool]

I would suspect her shield is designed to parry as well as block... Being small makes it light and fast. Doesn't invoke alot of confidence and certainly doesn't make her look intimidating

 

[TheLadyNerd]

Oh I only was able to get my Tomb Raider as good as it is because of all the help from the RPF members. You guys are awesome!

Aye, I'm thinking black too, especially as the pants/leggings look black to me as well. So I'm thinking I'm going to look for some basic black leather wedges and then do a build of the metal plating and rubber(?) top to the boots over the knees.

I would like to go with leather as it is more natural, porous, and therefore more breathable. However, leather is also twice as expensive as synthetics. My knowledge of fabrics is minimal, so would there be any other material out there that would have to look of this particular leather (and colour), but would still be relatively light and breathable?

As far as the painting goes, hm....let me try to give a visual example of what I'm thinking with this (and feel free to correct me, I could be totally off target here).


(Though I think this may be ACTUAL armour)....


(Cold cast aluminum buffed. Unfortunately I don't know anyone near me that works with cold casting aluminum, so I'm trying to find an alternative as the pauldron on the left would work fine for what I'm looking for.)


(Though I wonder....the Iron Man armour also has that tell-tale metallic sheen. Though I have no idea what it's made out of. I'm going to guess aluminum?)

 

[laurend]

I'd think if you want to use foam doing something similar to the foam tutorial already posted but using a metallic enamel (ie car spray paint, like the Iron Man builds) as a base for the rub n buff is the closest you're going to get to a metal sheen without actually using metal.

The other option is to use a foam/styrene combo. I think having the harder (and non-absorbant) surface of the styrene helps get that metal look but you still get a little bit of flexibility and you don't have to worry about patterns or fiberglass or anything like that that comes with pepping. There's a bunch of information here and she seems to be able to get a good shine using enamel paints as seen here.

 

[Astrokid248]

Haha, the top picture is in fact steel armor built for combat. It ended up being used for a movie that I don't remember the name of. Getting your paint to match that is a very good idea.

To the argument above about Sif's shield: it's a heater-shaped buckler. You're supposed to punch at incoming attacks with it, essentially parrying their blade. It's not for idly defending like with large heaters or kite shields. Knowing that, Sif seems even more badass, but to the untrained viewer, it's kind of wimpy looking for all the wrong reasons.

 

[Lflank]

what the hell the size of the shield ... this is rediculous ><

Nay nay nay---that type of shield is known as a "buckler". It was very common back in the ole days. The trick to using it was to hold it out away from your body, and move it around to stop attacks by blocking off your body. Mostly, bucklers were used against stabbing swords like rapiers.

To illustrate the concept, try this experiment---have someone take an ordinary pot lid and hold it right in front of their chest, and see how much of their body you can poke with your finger. Now have that person extend the pot lid out in front of them, between them and you--and notice how much more of their body it blocks from you.


EDIT: Of course, the REAL reason she uses a buckler in the movie is so the audience can see more of her and less of her shield.

 

[Astrokid248]

Mostly, bucklers were used against stabbing swords like rapiers.

Not so much. They were used against single handed swords of any type. Most of the HMB fighters I know who participate in the triathlon 1v1s use falchions with their bucklers, although a few use thrusting swords and one uses a basic arming sword.

 

[faille]

Another thing I noticed, is in your very first picture it looks like her shield has some sort of a scabbard to slide her sword into. You can see it sheathed in your screen cap from the trailer.

If you were going for the look of her costume and not 100% accuracy in undergarments, you might be able to get away with a two piece or modified bodice. For certain the skirt would need to be leather/pleather. From the back, her armor covers almost her entire back, and it is just the shoulders that and under the armpits (like where a sports bra would be) that starts up again with leather. So to help reduce the heat, you could use an athletic type material in the middle so that the bodice/skirt is one piece but is not one piece of full p/leather.

Plus, the leather part of the upper back looks like it is actually part of the armor itself, not the bodice (see how it kind of buckles on the horseback picture, and how it turns into the collar in the front? So, it would not be completely against your skin and would help some with the heat. Actually I can't really tell.. it looks combined but then it doesn't. Either way it looks like you could easily make it two without compromising the appearance.

I'm a little confused with the front. Is she wearing a tshirt because she's between takes? Is it a sheer "modesty panel"? Did they CGI ample bosoms in?

ETA: what's on the edge of her skirt? More Loki zipper stoppers?

And I like the shield! Girl doesn't need to hide behind a riot shield, that one keeps her nimble!

 

[Riceball]

I don't have any experience in making thing looking metallic but from the example posted on what you don't want it to look like part of the trick will be to get a perfectly smooth surface to paint on. This doesn't mean you can't use things like foam, you just have to make sure you seal it really well with something that's going to fill in any pores and imperfections so that you get a nice, clean, smooth surface, once you've done that it will then be a matter of getting the right paints.

 

[Auryn]

Just popping in to say Hi and see if there is any progress on this.
I am working on the same project.
My experience is with leather so I am not worried about that aspect
but I have the same trepidation about making it look like metal and not foam armor.
I will be testing paint applications on Styrene next week.
Would love to know any progress you've made.

 

[TheLadyNerd]

I've actually opted to hold off on this project til next year after the film comes out in November (and then the DVD). As I learned with my Tomb Raider project, I like to have as many resources as possible for reference. But I'll be keeping this thread going as new images come out or if I learn anything about the materials, how to make it, etc. But feel free to post and add to this! I'll be curious to see how your Styrene experiment goes.